Death's Completely Inconvienent Visit to Camelot
by Winters-Feather
Summary: " How exactly was  Merlin  causing so much trouble? Determined to find the answer to that question, Death had declared that she would be taking the day off and headed straight for Camelot. "
1. Chapter 1

Death's Untimely and Completely Inconvenient Visit to Camelot

_Chapter 1 _

Death checked her map, furious at her lack of foresight.

"I knew that mapmaker should have updated this centuries ago," she muttered, shoving the old thing back into her old, leather pouch. She sighed as her dark blue eyes scanned the landscape. The woman was surrounded by forest, though she knew there was a city hiding beyond it…somewhere. That's what the last bundle of dead soldiers testified, and their Commander seemed intelligent enough. Though she had been travelling for quite some time now in the general direction, she was sure, but the lady could have sworn she had walked by the same damned tree at least three times now. Death rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, and plopped down on a bolder nearby the stream in a deadly pout.

"Bloody field work," she scowled. Her day off wasn't going as nearly well as she would have liked.

It all started with that crazy woman who simply couldn't shut up about failing to get revenge on some prince, a boy that kept getting in the way, and her son, oh her son! Death, however, thought nothing of it and instructed one of her many Reapers to simply lead her away where her offspring was waiting. That wasn't so unusual- there were many crazy people sprouting crazy tales of revenge and dying because of their foolishness. No, it was the consistency. Hags became knights, knights became one of the Old Religion's head priestess, and the priestess became _armies. _Death started to become interested after that, and after finding nothing better to do, began to interview the souls of those who had recently died. After a bit of probing, patience, and a hint of intimidation, Death soon discovered several common factors between all of their stories. One, the city of Camelot was somehow involved. Two, the king must have been very unpopular. It was unbelievable, the sheer number of would-be assassins and failed usurp armies that claimed blood. The third was that he had a son, but the fourth was what intrigued Death the most. The forth was that the prince had a manservant, and he wasn't just any old manservant, he was a warlock. And, with a little more probing, Death discovered that with every single occurrence, with every assassin and defeated army, the boy had some part to play, whether it was murderer or as the unnoted protector of his clueless prince.

_He practically does my job just as well as I do_, she had thought, though it had left her quite bewildered.

How exactly was this warlock, this lone boy, causing so much trouble? Determined to find the answer to that question, Death had declared that she would be taking the day off and headed straight for Camelot.

Only, she couldn't _find_ Camelot. So Death sat and pouted until she could hear the sound of horses approaching and two young men bickering about something she could not quite comprehend.

What exactly was a dolluphead?

Death watched as a pair of horses emerged from the woods, with two boys perched on top of them. The first was a dark haired boy, nothing out of the ordinary. He wore a blue tunic and an odd scarlet handkerchief around his neck. The other, clearly his superior, was blonde with rather pretty eyes and dressed in grey riding garb.

_Familiar_, Death noted, though she didn't understand why. She wasn't acquainted with too many living folk, so it didn't make sense this one looked familiar. The woman was so caught up with her predicament that she didn't notice that the bickering had stopped, or that his companion was looking at her with a queer expression on his face.

"Hello?" he called out, a bit hesitantly, "Are you alright?"

_No, I defiantly have seen him before,_ she thought as the blonde boy shook his head, confounded.

"Oh, NOW you're concerned for my well being," he replied.

_That arrogant tone_, Death noted. She defiantly wasn't imagining things. Maybe this trip was worth it.

"I'm not talking about you," his companion replied, pointing towards Death, "Are you seriously telling me you can't see her? She's…she's right there!"

"Oh," said Death, dumbfounded as the blonde boy gave the black haired one a good slap on the head.

"There's no _girl, _Merlin. You're just imagining things," he said.

The black haired boy opened his mouth, about to say something sharp but Death shook her head, placing a finger to her lips, which he obeyed. She understood what was going on, now.

Death had found her warlock.

At first, Death and Merlin casually stared at each other as if playing a game. At least, Death casually stared. She even smiled. The boy, on the other hand, had some mixed look of bewilderment and horror, though the woman was so used to such expressions that it was all part of the introduction process. The impatient prince started to trot off in the other direction.

"_Mer_lin!" he called out.

"C-coming, sire!" Merlin retorted. Death watched in silence as he checked to make sure his master was a far enough distance away before leaning forward.

"I'm not just seeing things, am I?" the boy asked, "You're actually there?"

Death nodded.

"Why are you invisible, then? Who are you?" he hissed.

Death shrugged.

"I forgot," she lamely replied, readjusting her age worn traveling cloak over her tunic. It was originally a brilliant shade of sapphire, though the color worn out over time- another thing she was just going to have to fix.

The boy arched an eye brow.

"You're telling me you forgot your own name and why Arthur isn't to see you, but I can?" asked Merlin.

Death scowled. Great, the all powerful warlock everyone was talking about was an _idiot._

"No," she responded, trying to hold her temper, "I did not forget my name. My name is Death, though somehow everyone _insists _on calling me Morgan."

Merlin's eyebrows rose.

"Well," he said, shaking his head, "You're…. prettier than what I expected."

Death shrugged again as she idly glanced towards Arthur.

"Oh, relax. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to be following you all day. You've caused quite a bit of commotion and I want to see what all this fuss is about."

All this was said in a rather matter-of-fact way, and Merlin looked like he didn't seem to quite comprehend it all.

"What was that?" he weakly asked. He was so dismayed that he ignored the return of the unhappy prince.

"Merlin, have you gone deaf?" Arthur asked, slapping his servant on the back of his head.

"Honestly, does anything go through that thick skull of yours?"

Death watched with mild amusement as the two threw some verbal barbs at each other before setting out unto the trail as she followed a healthy few paces behind Merlin's horse. The warlock was still uneasy in her presence, she could tell. It was getting rather boring, really.

_You'd think after the first ten minutes he'd realize I'm not here to actually kill him._

"Boo," she muttered, causing the boy to jolt in his saddle and throw a quick glare at the woman. Without warning, Arthur halted.

"Merlin, what is it?," the prince demanded.

"What?" answered Merlin, feigning innocence.

"Oh, come on," said Arthur with a sigh, "You get all…twitchy when something is bothering you."

He placed his hand on Merlin's shoulder, giving his friend a confident nod.

"It's alright, you can tell me."

"Oh, really?" replied Merlin, skeptical, "That's good, because Death has been tagging behind us the whole time, and- OW!"

Death snickered as Arthur smacked Merlin before urging his horse to move on.

"Merlin, stop being such a girl and quit day dreaming," Arthur said with a sigh , "And I thought it was something _serious_…"

"You asked," retorted Merlin, making a funny face.

"Yeah, well, I forgot how stupid you can be sometimes," said Arthur, and that was that.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you guys for the feedback from Chap. 1! I wasn't expecting that at all lol. Sorry it took so long, but here's Chap. 2! Thanks also to Jassai for bouncing around ideas for this chapter with me :P**

_Chapter 2_

The three returned to Camelot by early afternoon. Arthur had retreated to his room, leaving Merlin to attend to the horses in the stables with the promise of a heap of armor to shine, shoes to polish, clothes to wash, and a broom waiting for him back in the prince's bedchambers. As Merlin started to remove the saddles from the horses, Death found a bucket in an opposite corner, turned it over so that its' bottom was facing upwards, and sat on it. Merlin shot her a perplexed looked.

"Are you seriously just going to sit there and watch me work?" he asked.

"Yup," Death replied, folding her arms in her lap, "Don't mind me, carry on."

"Right," replied Merlin, in a tone that betrayed his lack of enthusiasm. He shot her another suspicious glare before he continued on with his work in the stables. Death watched in silence as the boy fed the horses, groomed them, and clean the saddles. The woman twitched her nose. She was so _bored; _this wasn't at all what she had expected. However, she perked up when the boy sighed and brushed his hands on his pants.

"Well," Merlin said, "That's it, for now…"

He frowned.

"Thanks for helping," he added, sarcastically.

"Wait," replied Death, disappointed, "That's it?"

"Well, yeah," Merlin replied, "I'm going to go to attend to other things, now, if you don't mind…"

"No, no," Death rebuked, shaking her head, "Why couldn't you have done some _magic_? Would have made everything so much more easier…"

"Shhh!" Merlin hissed, with a vengeance that amused Death. He took broad steps towards the woman, his back turned towards the stable's door. She smirked.

"Look," he whispered, looking wildly about them before anxiously staring her down.

"_No one _must ever know that I am…you know."

"A warlock?" Death said in a loud, obvious tone, causing the poor boy to flinch, "But you've been causing quite the uproar in the Underworld as of late. Everyone knows, boy, you're really quite obvious."

"No!" Merlin cried, practically begging.

"Please, if Uther ever finds out what I am, he will have me killed…"

Death rolled her eyes.

"Really, I'm not so bad, you know," she said, causing Merlin to blush.

"Well…"

The boy tried to come up with some snappy comment, but it was obvious he was unsure of how to reply. Death smirked, again.

"That and you're forgetting a little something. _No one can see me_," Death interrupted, "Hear me, either. So relax."

"But I can see you," Merlin pointed out.

"Clearly," Death dryly replied as she stood up and stretched, extending her arms towards the ceiling as she arched her back.

"And why's that?" Merlin asked, not amused by her sense of humor.

"That's better," she continued, turning her attention towards Merlin again, "Anyway, only those who have died can see me. Or those with incredible powers like you, or the Old Religion's clergy. Speaking of which…."

Death narrowed her eyes.

"You killed one of our priestesses," she stated, "That wasn't very nice."

Merlin gave a noise that indicated disgust and shock.

"She was one of yours?" he retorted, a little angry, "Of _course_ I did, she was completely ballistic!"

"The altar is getting covered in vines," Death said with a shrug.

"Nimueh almost killed Arthur," Merlin justified.

"So?" Death asked, not understanding the significance of his argument.

She gave a mischievous grin.

"If it gets any messier, you'll have to clean it," she teased.

"Why do I have to do it?" the warlock wailed.

"Merlin?"

The two ceased their bickering and turned their heads towards the stable entrence. By it stood a pretty young women with curly, shoulder length brown hair. She was also of a darker skin color, which intreged Death. Unless her geography was wrong, no one within hundreds of miles shared her ethnicity. Then again, her maps _were_ out of date…

"Merlin?" the woman repeated, giving a bewildered grin, "Why are you talking to yourself?"  
>"Oh, um, Gwen!" Merlin replied, stepping away from Death, "Talking to myself?"<br>"You were shouting," the woman named Gwen pointed out, her eyes keenly searching the stables.

"Who were you talking to…"

"The horses!" the warlock lied, waving wildly in their direction, "I was talking to the horses…"

Gwen nodded, sympathetically.

"Right, the horses," she repeated in a tone that made it clear that she thought her friend was acting oddly.

Death snickered, though Merlin was smart enough to ignore her.

"So, what do you need me for?" Merlin asked, changing the subject.

Gwen bowed her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Um, well," she began, clearly grateful for the distraction, "Giaus sent me to summon you. He said it's important, though he wouldn't tell me what."

"Thanks," Merlin replied a bit hollowly as Gwen nodded. She turning around, as if to walk away, but then paused.

"And…Merlin," she added, turning back around as she took several small steps backwards , "If you need anyone to talk to, you know I'm here. Instead of horses…"

"Thank you, Guinevere," Merlin said, sincerely this time.

The woman smiled and cheerfully walked away.

"Horses?" Death asked, chuckling when Gwen was finally out of sight.

"Let's go home," Merlin replied in a strained voice.

Without waiting for an answer from his companion, the warlock left the stables and headed down the path towards Giaus' home. Still laughing, Death followed closely behind the youth.


	3. Chapter 3 Part 1

**A/N: Agggh, where to start! So, first of all...Thank you so, so, so much to Jissai and White for the shout outs. (Yeah, I'm sorry- I'm horribly with names, let alone screen ones. I'm going to put up your whole name, though, never fear!) And thanks to everyone for the support thus far Heehee, sorry it's been a while since I last updated. I'm a slow writer. Not to mention I'm busy all the time XD So yeah. This isn't actually Chapter 3 in it's whole, but it's not quite finished yet and I didn't think y'all wanted to read seven plus pages in one go. So you get chapter 3 in parts. Enjoy **

Chapter 3

Gaius observed Sir Leon's body, perplexed. Half an hour ago, the knight had interrupted one of his medicine making sessions. The man had knocked politely before entering, giving Gaius an awkward nod with his right hand covering his forehead. The physician observed several things, immediantly. One was that the knight was wearing his garb minus some of the heavier pieces of armor, meaning he must have been training previously. The second was that he didn't seem to be bleeding or physically injured, so whatever happened wasn't because of some careless mistake or tomfoolery. Lastly, the poor man looked like he had developed a severe migraine, though why Gaius could not fathom. The knight was never subjected to those.

Instead of rushing to the bed side or a seat as most usually did, Leon stood by the door, waiting to be served. Gaius, on the other hand, wasted no time on formalities.

"You look terrible," he said with concern, holding his new patient by the shoulders and leading him gently to a chair.

His response was a glare that demanded all mockery be ceased. Silently, the blond removed his hand from his forehead, causing Gaius to gasp. It was bright red, as if he had rammed his head against someone's shield. It could have just been his eyes, but was a golden pattern starting to emerge?

"What on earth…" Gaius started, reaching gently out to touch it.

"I implore you, don't," Leon begged, shuddering as the physician did so, anyway.

"You have a fever," Gaius firmly replied, as if that settled matters, "What happened?"

"I…don't know," the knight sheepishly said, watching as Gaius left his side momentary to dip a clean rag in a bucket full of water.

"I was practicing with the others and then I started getting a fierce headache, only I thought nothing of it, until Kay noticed…well _this_," Leon said, bitterly gesturing at his forehead as Gaius attended to his fever. The knight shuddered under the cool touch of the rag, though relaxed soon after.

"Keep it there," Gaius urged as he bustled off again to put together what Leon hoped was medicine that was easy to get down. He tried watching the physician work, but it hurt his head watching the old man bustle about, accurately picking up bottles and herbs, muttering to himself. Instead, the knight found himself keenly interested in the floorboards. At least they couldn't _move_.

Just then, a pang of pain overwhelmed his body. He was a man, damn it. Showing signs of weakness would be cowardly. So instead of crying out like most usually did, Sir Leon awkwardly dubbed over the table, his eyes widening as his body cringed. Immediantly, Gaius reacted, carefully leaving everything on his work bench before running towards the knight's side. He said something, though Leon couldn't make it out. Instead, his vision and hearing started to curiously fade, and he found himself rather sleepy….

Gaius wasn't strong enough to move the passed out knight. Too much armor, too much muscle, too much chainmail…He were _heavy_. Gaius was determined not to use magic, either, though it was going to be troublesome to do anything else.

"Ridiculous," he muttered as he calculated the space between the chair and the sickbed.

"I am a man of science, now."

Figuring this as just, the physician attempted to drag the chair backwards with the knight on it. No such luck. The knight and chair stubbornly moved back an inch, making the knight's position all the more awkward. Gaius sighed. He couldn't move the knight, but he could at least attempt to get rid of that blasted fever. With this new and more realistic goal in mind, the man gently moved the knight's head so that it was laying to his right side. He frowned at what he saw. His eyes hadn't been deceiving; a pattern was definatlly emerging. It was an odd symbol, a spiral with squiggly lines shooting out from it. The insignia even _glowed_ a bit.

_Of course_, Gaius realized, _It was this mark that had caused his pain!_

This was all very well and obvious, but whose magic was this and why was it there? He quickly recognized it as a symbol of the Old Religion. In fact, it was a little familiar…Gaius gulped, quickly covering the mark with the cold rag, again, before attending to his library of magical books for council.

He had found his answer within minutes. It wasn't that hard; he had remembered (with some guilt) reading a passage on it as a bit of 'light reading' before. Then Guinevere arrived…

The old man quickly sent her out of the house in search for his ward, least she should discover Sir Leon's ailment or the book. The solitude also gave him a little more time to ponder over what he had just read. The mark wasn't harmful. It would sting, burn, and cause a temporary fever as it made itself known, but it was perfectly harmless, otherwise. The knight would be up within moments.

_Damn, _Gaius cursed, quickly scanning his shelves for a good sleeping drought. Sir Leon by under no means was to discover the true meaning of it. He was a good knight and a good man, but it would break his heart if he was to find out. As if on cue, the man gave out a low moan, struggling to sit up.

"Ah, you're up," Gaius cheerfully responded, clutching the drought in his hands. He helped tipped the man's head up as he popped open the bottle and poured the contents in the man's mouth.

"Drink," he said, soothingly, "It'll help you feel better."

Sir Leon compiled. Gaius frowned as his patient's face fell straight for the table.

"I should have waited until he was awake enough to walk to the bed," he said to himself, mournfully.


	4. Chapter 3 Part 2

**A/C: So in six hours I have to wake up to go to school to take my AP Lit. exam, agh..XD**

Chapter Three (cont.)

A memory.

"_Keep your eye on Camelot," Destiny said, tucking a strand of green hair behind her ear. At least, Death thought it was green; it was changing slowly towards a more of a sky-at- eleven- o- clock- in –the- morning sort of blue. The two were sitting under a tree in Death's garden. Instead of enjoying the scenery, Death idly flipped through the pages of a book a dead writer had wrote during his first year in the Underworld. It was quite good, if not incredibly exaggerated at some parts, especially the bit with the three headed dog. _

"_Mmm," Death replied with a shrug, causing Destiny to giggle._

"_No, really. Things are going to get very interesting," she said, "Lots of violence, wars, and rebellions. You'd love it."_

"_Fascinating," Death replied, not totally persuaded, having just finished reaping the last few victims of a war in the far east. What was this bat planning?_

"_I promise," Destiny replied in an eerie voice, her eyes sparkling with excitement._

_Death dog eared the page she was reading and firmly shut the book. Her voice was too eerie._

"_There are a few things that can change the course of history and the earth so," the goddess said in her voice like bells, "First there was the Cold, and then the stones from the sky…"_

_She stopped, distracted by a queer looking insect that was crawling across the skirt of her dress. Destiny observed it, fascinated. Death frowned._

"_And now?" she asked._

_The goddess didn't reply right away. Instead, she scooped up the insect in her hands, though it became startled enough to fly away. Satisfied, Destiny hummed as she twirled around to face her friend._

"_And now," Destiny replied, "I'm sending the Princling a gift." _

_ Death would have scoffed at those words, save for the seriousness hovering around her companion's words. She sat under the tree, silently as Destiny practically danced away. Her scent lingered in the air, reminding the goddess too much of (though not disapprovingly) mischief._


	5. Chapter 3 Part 3 out of 3

**A/N: Final part of chapter 3! (Fitting, no?) Enjoy!**

Chapter 3 (cont.)

Gaius was so preoccupied with his troubles that he didn't notice Merlin pass through the door or how he kept the door open long enough for Death to enter.

"What's wrong with Sir Leon?" asked Merlin, causing Gaius to jump.

"Merlin!" his guardian exclaimed, turning around to greet the boy.

He started to say something else, but then his eyes fell on death. They widened, his jaw slacked.

"Merlin," he practically chocked out, in a lower and slower voice. He suddenly felt very cold and very stiff.

"Merlin, what is she doing here?"

Death and Merlin exchanged glances, equally shocked and confused.

"Whatever happened to 'Nobody alive except those with significant magical powers can see me?' " asked Merlin, quizzically.

"No, I said 'Only those who have died before', not 'nobody alive'," she replied with a smirk.

"They're two very different things, you know."

The woman approached Gaius and patted him on the back.

"You look…err, a little more lively than last time we met, eh?" she asked, cheerfully.

Gaius replied with a weak smile, his body relaxing.

"You two _know_ each other?" Merlin asked, bewildered.

Gaius nodded. Death shrugged.

"Frankly, I'm surprised you remember me, considering how poor human memory is," Death stated, her eyes falling upon the sleeping Sir Leon.

"Oooh, what happened to him?" she exclaimed, though she immediately narrowed her eyes when she could feel the magic.

"What are you doing here?" Gaius asked, ignoring her question as his own eyes moving from Sir Leon to Death. Suddenly, his expression turned to one of that of puzzlement to enlightenment. His gaze hardened out of suspicion.

"Oh," he said, turning to Merlin, who seemed to have been putting together the pieces while the two were having their chat.

"The Cup of Life," the boy said, turning to Death, who was examining the mark on Leon's forehead.

She nodded.

"My brother's idea of a joke," she bitterly replied, observing the symbol with mild disdain.

She shifted her position so that Merlin, could observe the blonde man's head.

"This is his work, too," she continued, "He's a lousy artist."

Merlin was about to ask a question about her brother when Gaius interrupted.

"Merlin, the Lady Death needs to go," Gaius said, giving a bow to Death, "No offense to you, madam, but…"

"No offense taken," she casually replied. She meant it, too. The man was honest and had even called her by her name and not one of those plain human ones. Morgan…Honestly. How could you strike fear or intimidation in the hearts of others with a name like _Morgan_? Not that she usually wanted to, but it tended to come in handy, at times.

At this point, Merlin had enough. He was terribly confused and terribly cranky. So, he decided to do the most reasonable thing he could think of. He shouted.

"Enough!" he bellowed, rubbing his temples.

Gaius hushed and Death made a noise that made it clear that she would not be ordered to do anything, though she, too, listened. Merlin pointed at Death.

_He'd make a great actor,_ she idly thought, _Very dramatic._

"You have a brother?" he asked, quite flabbergasted.

Death nodded.

"Yup," she replied. "Twin, actually. I guess you could say he's my opposite…He's Life."

Merlin arched his eyebrows.

"Your brother is Life?" he asked.

"Yeah, though he sometimes likes to prance around like a large woman," Death said in a voice that was neither serious nor joking.

Merlin decided not to challenge this notion, too scared to do so. Instead, he made a vague, spiral motion in the air in front of his forehead.

"And that…thing is his doing?"

Death rolled her eyes. Playing 'interrogation victim' was fun only when the questions weren't redundant, especially when it came to this topic.

"_Yes_," she replied, her voice dripping with venom.

"A God Mark," Gaius offered.

Merlin frowned at the bizarre term.

"Why would the gods be passing out…squiggly drawings?" he asked, his eyes dancing to and from Gaius and Death, ready to attach themselves to whoever answered first.

Gaius glanced over at Death, who sighed.

"It's a mark of favoritism," she said, wrinkling her nose, "What it means is that you can't die. Oh, I mean, you can, don't worry!"

She waved her hand in denial as Merlin seemed to be forming or confirming some sort of conclusion in his head. The last thing the goddess needed was to be thought of incompetent.

"No, it just means it makes it _harder_ for you to die. Your luck increases, see? An arrow misses, a sword runs deep, but not deep enough."

She paused, observing the knight's features.

"Now that I think about it," she mused, "I've heard stories of this one, before. Amazing we haven't met under more normal circumstances."

"Indeed," muttered Gaius.

A brief, awkward pause followed.

"Well," exclaimed Merlin with unusual enthusiasm, "That's pleasant. Doesn't that sound pleasant, Gaius?"

"Shut up, Merlin, and help me move Sir Leon," Gaius snapped back.

"It's absurd, really," Death muttered more to herself than to the men. She was beside herself with irritation. She hated favoritism. It was immoral and quite a nescience. The lady crossed her arms and started muttering curses in an ancient tongue. Her brother had that effect on her.

_Her brother_…

Death frowned. They hadn't mentioned it yet, but the mark only appeared when the god who had bestowed the mark was near, as a way of identification because though human memory was horrible, the gods were worse. He knew she had came to this city, and was going to soon try to disturb her, for whatever reason.

She watched with mild interest as Merlin used his magic to transport Sir Leon. It was all very showy, with the outstretched, puppeteer hands and the unnatural gold eyes. The amusing part was that it was also very ungraceful; the poor knight was going to wake up with bruises in unsightly places.

_He's interfering_, she thought. For the first time, Death was deeply concerned. The gods all knew to never mess with Destiny; she helped keep the balance of things. The rules were complicated and fuzzy, but they were there. Fate could be altered, but as the design was made for mortals, so it must be changed by them.

Of course, Death mused, she was biased. Causing accidental plagues and getting all the gods mad at you created that effect.

But, still. Camelot, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't important. Shouldn't have been, anyway. But then their idiot of a king had decided to eradicate magic from the kingdom, which seemed to upset nature quite a bit. So much that Destiny decided to send this clumsy boy to the city's way. Death rubbed her temples at the memory.

_And thus the wheels start to churn_, she thought. _Wasn't that how the saying goes?_

Merlin silently approached Death, his hands in his pockets.

"What do you want?" she asked without looking at him.

The boy hesitated before answering.

"It's just," he said, softly, "You've been awfully quiet."

"Mm," Death replied, still fuming.

Merlin tried a different approach. He pointed towards Sir Leon.

"You know, if your brother marked him before, why's it showing up just now?"  
>"Mm."<p>

"You're not very close with him, are you?"

"Mm."

Merlin sighed, annoyed.

"Well, I tried," he muttered.

Death gave him a glare that made him apologize immediately.

Gaius shook his head as he handed his blubbering ward a small package.

"If you're not too busy bothering the lady, my boy, I'd suggest you run along towards the butcher's and give this to his wife," he instructed. "She needs it for their son."

Merlin made a face. Something clearly was going on here, and if he were to miss it …

"Go," instructed Gaius, practically shoving the boy out the door, "And then go back to Arthur; just because you have a guest doesn't mean you have the day off!"

"Alright, alright," Merlin protested as he practically scampered away.

Death watched with mild amusement, shaking her head. Gaius looked at her with an uncomfortable expression once the lad was out of the way.

"You…aren't going to follow him?" he asked, pointing vaguely out the door.

"No, not now," she said, though she, too, made for the doorway.

_He's here._

"I need to have a talk with my brother, first," she added, quite darkly. Wouldn't be that big of a walk, either; idiot was lofting about nearby. Probably by the castle; Life liked castles.

Her response made Gaius cringe, a little, so she decided to lift the mood by giving her most cheerful grin.

"Thank you for your hospitality," she said, "I'll be back, later."

Gaius nodded, not sure whether this was a good thing or a bad one.


	6. Chapter 4

**OOC: Sorry for the hiatus, guys! It's been rather hetic and busy...Lots of shit happened. Not to mention I just started university, so yay! Anyway, here's the awaited 4th chapter of Death- Thank you for the support! More will be on it's way, soon Btw, I don't know if any of you noticed an inconsistancy, but I found an error in Death's logic about who can see her...Don't worry, there's actually an explination for this...I'll reveal that later ^^;**

Chapter 4

It didn't take Death long to find her brother. She watched with bitter annoyance as a pair of stout palace guards were dragging the screaming and kicking god by the wrists.

"Ow! Let go, I tell you! That hurt!" he bellowed.

"Cease your yelling, wizard! We are taking you to see the king, and you shall hang for your crimes," one replied in a very mechanical and stern voice.

Life made a rude noise which caused the other guard to kick him in the shin.

"Quiet, you!" he barked.

Death watched as her brother reluctantly give in. Dressed as he was, in a shabby green tunic and brown leggings, and with the aura of a fool, her mischievous brother took pride in his ability to blend in so well with his subjects despite frequent misunderstandings.

Like this one.

_Mistaken for a wizard, _Death thought as she watched her brother play along, dramatically stumbling up the palace steps. Then , again, the man was naturally clumsy, so she wasn't certain. The woman looked around, observing the villagers. Many rushed about to get to their own business, though their eyes fearfully trailed her brother's path. The words they whispered stirred her interest.

"Do you think he's a druid?"  
>"Handsome but an odd look in his eye..."<br>"Careful, don't go near the wizard!"  
>"Burned at stake..."<p>

"Trial..."

"The king'll know what to do..."  
>"A wizard..."<p>

Death was rather amused by the fuss. What was the big deal? He probably was trying to sell women idle trinkets or frolic with forest creatures in a meadow. Life liked to frolic.

_The boy was quite keen on keeping his powers hushed , too, _she remembered. Was this why? As entertaining as this set up was, it did seem rather troublesome. And, goddess forbid, _fatal._

The woman grinned at her own joke as she carefully walked around passing villagers and entered the castle grounds as quiet as a shadow.

Merlin knew something was wrong the moment he found the butcher's shop closed and wails emitting from his humble house. Trying not to let the stench make him heave up last night's dinner, Merlin knocked twice before letting himself inside the house. The place reeked of vomit and meat. The boy was sleeping on a cot by the wall, his mother weeping at the table. The butcher was standing by the window, with a glare in his eye that made it clear he did not want to be talked to.

"What happened?" Merlin asked, quietly holding out the basket towards the woman. She shook her head, wiping her tears away with her apron.

"Bless you, child. It's too late, now," she replied in a horse voice, giving a bitter smile.

"Our Calvin is dead, now."

Merlin blanched at this statement, speechless.

"Dead?" he repeated.

Had the child's illness been that bad?

His eyes trailed towards Calvin; he probably had died only minutes before his arrival.

The boy's mother gave another sniff.  
>"It's that wizard," she spat, her voice taking a sudden bitter and vengeful tone.<p>

"My boy was recovering until...until..."

The butcher's wife couldn't finish her sentence, too wrapped up in grief.

"Old woman Margret not doing so well either, I hear," the butcher added in a gruff voice as he approached his wife and embraced her, blood smears and all.

Merlin anxiously shuddered. He didn't quite know who this new 'wizard' was, but he was sure it had something, if not everything, to do with Death.

"I need to go," he said before bolting out the door.

As Merlin ran through the streets of Camelot, stumbling over carts of cabbages and angry civilians' toes, the young warlock picked up some very interesting details. A wizard was caught bewitching the forest trees and creatures. No one knew for certain, but since his arrival, the sick have gotten sicker and several of those close to death's door step had swiftly passed away. The city was in an uproar, and everybody wanted the bloke dead. The boy didn't dare to stop to catch his breath, but hastened his pace until he reached the threshold of the physician's' house.

The old man, who had been sitting by Sir Leon's side as he looked out the window, placed his hand over his heart in shock as the young man practically tore down the door as he raced for a chair.

"Merlin?" he asked, troubled, "What on earth happened?"

"Calvin!" Merlin gasped, sinking into a chair as he threw his head back, panting.

"The boy. He's...he's dead!"

Giaus rose to his feet, suddenly feeling a little nauseous.

"Dead?" he repeated, "But that's absurd! He was-"

"I know, I know," Merlin interrupted with impatience.

"He's not the only one, though. All of Camelot is blaming some wizard, and..."

Merlin paused for air, looking around the room in alarm.

"Where's Death? Where did she go?" he asked, scrambling to his feet.

Giaus, however, ignored the boy, preferring to look instead at the slumbering knight with a grave expression on his face.

"I knew this would happen," he muttered.

"But where..."

"You're supposed to be with the prince!" Giaus sternly reminded the boy.

Merlin was about to respond when the door was opened yet again, this time by a young, newly made knight named Galath. The old man scrambled to Sir Leon's side, hiding his forehead from view.

"May I help you?" he shakily asked.

"My lord requires your presence at once," the young man promptly replied with a troubled expression on his face.

Giaus nodded in reply, knowing there was no use arguing with an upset Uther.

"Very well," he said as he left the bedside of the knight.

"Is... everything alright?" Sir Galath asked, his eyes falling upon a cloth resting on Leon's brow.

"He's just resting. Let's go," Giaus urged, motioning for Merlin to follow.

Galath frowned when his eyes met with Merlin's.

"Arthur's been waiting for you," he warned as the trio picked up a brisk pace towards the castle.

"I've been waiting for you!" Arthur hissed as Merlin quietly slipped by his side. The trial had not yet started; the King had yet to arrive.

"What did I miss?" the man servant cheerfully asked as he scanned the room.

"Nothing," the prince replied in annoyance. "He kept on rattling about his sister. He's absolutely mad."  
>"His sister?" Merlin anxiously repeated as he scanned the room.<p>

It didn't take long for him to find Death- she was waving to him from across the room, by the threshold of the giant hallway. She looked like she was having _fun_.

Merlin blanched.

"I see," he whispered, causing the prince to nudge him on the side by using his shoulder.

"This one's a sun-touched idiot, but we must be careful; you never know with these wizards." Arthur said this with such force and venom that Merlin blanched.

"Indeed," Merlin replied, his eyes focusing on the kneeling god.

The prince nudged him on the shoulder.

"Never fear, Merlin," he said in an optimistic matter, "I won't let the fiend turn you into a bigger half-witted sissy than you already are."

"Very comforting," Merlin replied, though he had said so in such a passive manner that the prince took his words shockingly seriously.

"Yes. Very well, then," Arthur replied with a regal nod, "What are friends for, no?"

Merlin had no time to reply, for at that moment, King Uther was escorted into the room by a trusted knight. Though he held his head up high and was well kept, Merlin sensed that the king was not in as good of a condition as he was trying to appear. He could tell Arther felt the same by the way his body and expression grew rigid. The room grew silent and still, though the god was not. Instead, he smiled and nodded at the king's presence.

"Ah, finally! Someone with _authority_!" Life beamed.

"Now..."

"You have been found doing magic in the wood by Camelot," Uther declared, ignoring Life.

The accused god nodded at this statement.

"Well, yes, this poor old oak was feeling under the weather; I couldn't just sit by and not help the bloke out," Life reasoned, causing the onlookers to mutter excitingly amongst themselves.

"You were caught bewitching animals," Uther continued, his brow raised at Life's queer comments.

"I was talking to them," Life corrected, "There's a difference."  
>"No doubt plotting some foul deeds," Uther retorted, hungrily.<p>

Life scoffed.

"Foul deeds? Oh, please," Life responded, causing villagers to gasp and the guards to tighten the grips on their weapons.

"I was only asking for directions, and then we had a pleasant conversation about-"  
>"Spare me your ramblings!" Uther boomed, now furious. "So you admit that you have committed these crimes?"<p>

"Well, I wouldn't call them crimes..."

"So you admit, then, that you killed several of my subjects using your magic?"

Life looked baffled at this.

"What? No!" he indignantly shouted.

His head turned towards the back of the room, where Death was leaning against a door.

"That's my sister's job," he said, causing the crowd to feel very uncomfortable.

"Morgan, are you going to stand there all day? Having the time of your life, aren't you?"

Life gave a merry chuckle at this.

"Whose this Morgan?" Arthur asked out loud as he scanned the crowd. His father was still shouting to the very placid Life, who only looked mildly embarrassed by the whole situation.

"He seems to be looking at the back of the hall but there's no one there..."  
>"He's mental," weakly responded Merlin, "I'm sure she doesn't exist."<p>

"Unless," Arthur continued, lost in thought, "He actually does have a sister..."

"Pardon?" asked Merlin, alarmed.

Arthur was about to speak again when Uther waved his hand, defeated.

"Take him away," he ordered, nursing his temples.

Life frowned.

"Already? And we were having such a nice conversation..."

"I've had enough of you!" Uther spat, "Pray tonight, wizard, for you will be burned at stake at dawn to die for your crimes!"

"But that's silly; I'm immortal, you know," Life pounted, but the guards paid no mind to his comments as they began to drag him away from the hall.

Merlin watched as Death silently glided behind them.

In turn, King Uther silently got off his throne and made way out of the hall towards his bed chambers.

The prince and the manservant observed quietly as the civilians and guards slowly left the room, as well.

"You were saying?" Merlin asked the prince after a while.

Arthur seemed please that for once Merlin wanted to hear the sound of his voice.

The young man clasped his hands on his man servant's shoulders.

"You mentioned something this morning, in the woods," he said, his eyes flashing brightly as he started to put the picture together.

"Something about a girl."

"You said I was imagining things," pointed out Merlin, "You called me a girl, which wasn't very nice, you know."

Arthur rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry for calling you a girl, Merlin," he impatiently replied, "But that's not the point."

He glared at Merlin very seriously.

"Did you or did you not see a woman this morning?" he solemnly asked.

"I...might have had," Merlin replied, slowly.

Arthur nodded.

"Right," he said, patting Merlin on the back, again.

"That settles it, then. We are going to go tell my father about this, immediately."

We?

Merlin reluctantly followed Arthur out of the hall.

_There was not any point keeping this a secret from him,_ Merlin reasoned.

_Besides, he has to know that Life can't be killed..._

Or could he? The fact of the matter was, he didn't have to. He could have pretended it was all a delusion and not have Arthur in the know at all. As they walked, Merlin realized something a bit alarming; he was beginning to _trust _the prince with this sort of thing. Before, he would have gone about doing it himself and often landing him in even deeper trouble but lately...Lately Arthur was starting to get involved.

_It'll make it easier to tell him, one day, _Merlin mused as he stopped in his tracks.

A confused prince whirled around.

"Merlin?" he asked.

"You...You can't let your father burn that man," Merlin stuttered.

Arthur narrowed his eyes at the challenge.

"And why not?" he quietly asked.

Merlin paused and Arthur's body stiffened.

"Merlin, don't test me!"

"He's immortal," the war lock quietly replied.

"What?" Arthur snapped, bewildered.

_So, _said a familiar voice from Merlin's right.

The young man looked over by the window to find a raven sitting on open sill.

S_o, it's alright to tell him our secrets, but not yours? _Death asked, rather amused.


End file.
